Chop’t is making a New Year’s Resolution to give back in a bigger way. Starting in January 2013, Chop’t Creative Salad Company is enriching its commitment to food and wellness related causes with a goal to donate $100,000 in the 2013 calendar year through its “Chop’t Gives” initiatives.

To support the effort, Chop’t will offer a variety of special Seasonal and Super Seasonal Salads inspired by hyper-local produce, seasonal flavors, and regional cuisines from around the world. A $1 donation from the sale of each salad will benefit Chop’t Gives charity partners.

All Chop’t locations throughout Greater New York, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland will be giving back.

“When we opened the first Chop’t in 2001, our ultimate goal was to change everything you thought you knew about salad, and about fast food,” says Co-Founder Tony Shure. “Now we are not only revolutionizing salad but contributing to the health and wellness of the communities that surround and support us, which is key in our efforts to change the food landscape in the U.S. This is an important milestone for us.”

Chop’t’s existing charity partners Wellness in the Schools and Harlem Grown, will continue to be part of the Chop’t Gives program. Additional charity partners—selected with a focus on helping kids eat “better” will be added throughout the year.

“We believe that true change starts at a young age, when children can develop ‘better’ habits that shape their futures, and in turn ours,” says Co-Founder Colin McCabe. “To that end, we’re choosing charities that will help us make strides towards educating young people about food, and we’re partnering with other organizations focused on wellness that will help us take our ‘Better Tastes Better’ message beyond our four walls. I’d like to welcome every Chopper out there to tell us about their favorite local non-profits with similar goals.”

As the leader in the premium salad segment, Chop’t is paving the way for a new kind of fast food. The philosophy that “Better Tastes Better” is seeded in every part of the company from the roots of its charitable partnerships to the artisanal ingredients, seasonal produce, and home-made, small-batch dressings that are skillfully Chopped to-order with efficiency.

To date, Chop’t’s ongoing charitable efforts have:

· Supported a New York City 5th grade class trip to the White House Culinary Garden and Kitchen Garden with non-profit Wellness in the Schools

· Helped shape the “Harlem Grown” garden in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, offering a place where children can have a hands-on experience with fresh produce

· Supported cancer research and prevention efforts with The Pink Pony Fund of the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation, the foundations first culinary partnership

· Offered assistance to the rebuilding effort in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina through the St. Bernard Project

· Changed the food program at their adopted New York City Public School, PS 175 in Harlem, offering a fresh Salad Bar and Chef for the cafeteria through Wellness in the Schools

“Chop’t is the creator and leader of the premium salad segment, but we also want to be leaders in generosity,” says CEO Nick Marsh, who also sits on the board of non-profit Wellness in the Schools. “Businesses can and do play a huge role in shaping the future of individuals and communities. As a fast food restaurant, we see the effect our industry has had on the wellness of our nation. It is important to us that Chop’t has a lasting positive impact on the future of fast food.”

At Chop’t, a core menu of 14 Classics is available along with the option for guests to mix-and-match crispy, savory, and sweet Choppings for a flavorful custom salad. Chop’t has 17 convenient locations across Manhattan, Westchester County, New York, Washington, D.C., and Virginia and will be chopping soon in suburban Bethesda, Maryland.